On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president
He was the first Republican president and his victory was entirely due to his support in the North and West
No ballots were cast for him in 10 of the 15 Southern slave states, and he won only two of 996 counties in all the Southern states, an omen of the impending Civil War
Lincoln received 1,866,452 votes, or 39.8% of the total in a four-way race, carrying the free Northern states, as well as California and Oregon
His victory in the Electoral College was decisive: Lincoln had 180 votes to 123 for his opponents
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina took the lead by adopting an ordinance of secession; by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed
Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America, and adopted a constitution
The upper South and border states (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas) initially rejected the secessionist appeal
President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy, declaring secession illegal
The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis as its provisional president on February 9, 1861
Attempts at compromise followed but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the proposed Crittenden Compromise as contrary to the Party's platform of free-soil in the territories
Lincoln said, "I will suffer death before I consent
to any concession or compromise which looks like buying the privilege to take possession of this government to which we have a constitutional right"
Lincoln supported the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, which passed Congress and was awaiting ratification by the states when Lincoln took office
That doomed amendment would have protected slavery in states where it already existed
A few weeks before the war, Lincoln sent a letter to every governor informing them Congress had passed a joint resolution to amend the Constitution
On February 11, 1861, Lincoln gave a particularly emotional farewell address upon leaving Springfield; he would never again return to Springfield alive
Lincoln traveled east in a special train
Due to secessionist plots, a then-unprecedented attention to security was given to him and his train
En route to his inauguration, Lincoln addressed crowds and legislatures across the North
The president-elect evaded suspected assassins in Baltimore
On February 23, 1861, he arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C., which was placed under substantial military guard
This is the only substantial dispute." The president ended his address with an appeal to the people of the South: "We are not enemies, but friends
By March 1861, no leaders of the insurrection had proposed rejoining the Union on any terms
Meanwhile, Lincoln and the Republican leadership agreed that the dismantling of the Union could not be tolerated
On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter and began the fight
Donald concludes that, "His repeated efforts to avoid collision in the months between inauguration and the firing on Ft
Sumter showed he adhered to his vow not to be the first to shed fraternal blood
But he also vowed not to surrender the forts
This call forced states to choose sides
Virginia seceded and was rewarded with the designation of Richmond as the Confederate capital, despite its exposure to Union lines
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed over the following two months
Secession sentiment was strong in Missouri and Maryland, but did not prevail; Kentucky remained neutral
The Fort Sumter attack rallied Americans north of the Mason-Dixon line to defend the nation
As States sent Union regiments south, on April 19, Baltimore mobs in control of the rail links attacked Union troops who were changing trains
Local leaders' groups later burned critical rail bridges to the capital and the Army responded by arresting local Maryland officials
Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in an effort to protect the troops trying to reach Washington
John Merryman, one Maryland official hindering the U.S
troop movements, petitioned Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B
Taney to issue a writ of habeas corpus
But Lincoln persisted with the policy of suspension in select areas
Union military strategy
Lincoln took executive control of the war and shaped the Union military strategy
He responded to the unprecedented political and military crisis as commander-in-chief by exercising unprecedented authority
Lincoln gained the support of Congress and the northern public for these actions
Lincoln also had to reinforce Union sympathies in the border slave states and keep the war from becoming an international conflict
Copperheads criticized Lincoln for refusing to compromise on slavery
The Radical Republicans criticized him for moving too slowly in abolishing slavery
On August 6, 1861, Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act that authorized judicial proceedings to confiscate and free slaves who were used to support the Confederates
The law had little practical effect, but it signaled political support for abolishing slavery
Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, without consulting Washington, issued a martial edict freeing slaves of the rebels